Virtual Idol in the Beast World: Five Clans Fight Over Me

"Investing in Alihot... It seems you’ve chosen a relatively stable investment this time. You probably won’t lose money on it," Idelos said.

Alihot’s wolf pack was one of the largest in Zone 5. Even if Alihot didn’t secure the position of the Zone 5 wolf pack leader, with his current momentum, he’d still have a place there.

"It’s hard to say," Deviant said.

At first, he had also chosen Alihot for the sake of a stable investment. He had been watching the Zone 5 wolf packs for years, just waiting for a major internal struggle to place his bets.

In the past few years, while the Zone 5 wolf packs were still in a relatively stable period, Alihot’s pack was constantly growing. He went from being a minor leader with just a few dozen wolves to a major one commanding tens of thousands. His combat prowess and strategic mind are both top-tier.

But in Zone 5, there was no shortage of alpha wolves like him. Moreover, a new, exceptionally intelligent and powerful alpha would often emerge suddenly from a smaller pack and overshadow all the others.

Deviant bet on Alihot because he saw that his methods were a little more ruthless than the other wolves’.

Even though he’d caused widespread resentment in Zone 5, he had indeed managed to suppress those voices. It all depended on whether he could continue to hold out.

Deviant calculated that as long as Alihot could hold on until next spring, he would be able to secure his position as the leader of the Zone 5 wolf packs.

When that time came, his investment would pay off, and the returns would be enormous.

He had bet his entire life savings on this.

After making too many losing deals, he was being extremely cautious with this investment.

However, this also counted as meddling in the wolf packs’ struggles, so it couldn’t be done in the open. If he were discovered and exposed, he would be in serious trouble.

Forget the Beast Alliance; the Fox Clan alone could revoke his clan status and dump him in the Lower District.

Of course, plenty of foxes made similar investments, but they all did it in secret. If one of them got exposed, they would naturally be dealt with; otherwise, other foxes would be implicated.

"I wish you success," Idelos said. "Barring any accidents, you stand to make a huge profit from him."

Deviant walked over to his desk, sat down, and took out a pen and paper. "If you really wish me well, you won’t use this to threaten me. I’m your uncle. You can’t harm me."

Idelos replied, "If you had remembered that I’m your nephew when you were screwing me over, this wouldn’t have ended up in my hands."

Deviant choked on his words.

"Fine."

Deviant drafted two contracts with the utmost speed.

"If there are no problems, I’ll send it to him." Deviant tossed the two contracts in front of Idelos.

Idelos first picked up his own contract and unhurriedly made a few revisions.

Deviant looked over the changes, reluctantly agreed, and signed his name.

"You’re not going to look at this contract?" Deviant pushed the one prepared for Gu Demiao Ning toward Idelos. "He specifically asked for you. You’ve spoken up for him before, which means he has a good impression of you. All else being equal, he’ll definitely consider us first. If you’re the one to approach him, we can definitely secure the authorization for Yuanbao."

"No need to look," Idelos said. "I’ve already contacted him."

Deviant asked, "...When?"

Idelos casually crossed one leg over the other’s knee, his posture relaxed. "Just now."

Only then did Deviant realize he’d been played by Idelos. He said irritably, "You little fox, I don’t know who you take after."

Idelos raised his glass to him. "Who do you think, ’dear’ uncle? I also need to make some investments, to prevent you from screwing me over again."

...

...

After receiving Idelos’s guarantee and a draft contract he sent over, Gu Ning felt somewhat relieved.

After saving Idelos’s personal contact code to her list, she opened her chat with Alex and asked:

[Alex, do I need to prepare any documents to go to Zone 5? Will it cause any trouble for you?]

The Second District was just a backup plan. If she was going to leave Zone 19, barring any major changes, she would definitely follow Alex back to Zone 5 first.

’No matter how bad Zone 5 is, it has to be better than Zone 19, right?’

She wanted to go and understand the situation in Zone 5 for herself before considering other options.

However, she was still influenced by the Beastman’s private messages and felt uneasy about the safety of Zone 5. After sending that message, she continued to ask Alex:

[Zone 5 should be pretty safe right now? A Mixed Breed with a good record won’t be driven out, will they?]

Alex had just reached the door when he received Gu Ning’s questions.

Seeing the two messages, he shot a sideways glance at the excited Kloer beside him. "What did you say to her?"

Kloer was still absorbed in sending private messages to Gu Demiao Ning, thinking about getting closer to him so he could be the first to see Yuanbao and pester him for video updates.

’Oh, just thinking about it makes me happy.’

Hearing Alex’s words, he looked up and asked, "Who?"

When Alex saw that Kloer’s terminal screen was still on the chat interface with "Gu Demiao Ning," his expression tightened for a moment.

Kloer followed Alex’s gaze down to his own terminal. "Oh, him."

"I was telling him about the benefits of following us," Kloer said with a goofy grin. "I told him Zone 5 isn’t safe right now—the wolf packs are fighting pretty fiercely, right? So if he sticks with us, we can guarantee his safety."

Alex pressed his temples. "From now on, until we get back to Zone 5, you are not to log into any entertainment accounts. Communication only."

Kloer scratched his head, confused. "Why, Boss? I wasn’t secretly... okay, fine, I just sneak a peek at Yuanbao occasionally while I’m working. This job isn’t something a normal Beastman can handle! I need to relax. I was wrong, Boss. I’ll definitely work hard from now on."

Alex saw the two young wolves guarding the door and added, "And you are not to say a single word to Gu Ning."

Kloer asked, "Huh?"

’Not letting me log into my entertainment accounts, I can understand, but what’s this about not being able to talk to Gu Ning?’

"Um, Boss," Kloer said, pointing at the Gu Demiao Ning chat on his terminal screen. "If I don’t stay in touch with him, what if he joins another wolf pack?"

Alex said, "Leave it to me."

Kloer said, "Boss, you’re already so busy, doing everything yourself is too tiring. Let me handle it. I promise I won’t sneak off to watch Yuanbao videos and slack off."

Alex said, "The accommodations from the Military Department haven’t been arranged yet. Go and oversee it."

Kloer: "..." ’You can’t be serious?’

He didn’t want to communicate with that pack of annoying dogs or those stuck-up Birdmen who walked around with their noses in the air. But he had just made a promise to his Boss, so he had no choice but to go handle the somewhat troublesome task.

*

Gu Ning was waiting for Alex to message her back when she heard the sound of the door opening outside.

She put on her head covering, opened her bedroom door, and peeked out. It was Alex; he was back.

Seeing him, she instantly felt at ease.

"Are you hungry?"

Alex’s gaze fell upon her, and he held up the food in his hand.

Gu Ning patted her stomach. She had eaten too many snacks in the afternoon and wasn’t really that hungry, but she had promised Alex she would have dinner with him, so she nodded anyway.